Rapid Shift

Post Archive by Month

World Resources Institute, May 2018 National announcements on the right path to stay within the Paris Agreement: Bolder Plans to Reach Net-Zero Emissions New Zealand’s new prime minister committed to net zero by 2050 – a target that looks on track to be enshrined in a new national climate law. And in a submission to the UN, the United Kingdom indicated it would …

World Resources Institute, 31 May 2018, excerpt: All evidence (see further down) suggests that the president was wrong in claiming that adhering to our target would hurt the U.S. economy and destroy jobs. He was also wrong in claiming that the Agreement allowed large developing countries like China to do nothing to cut their emissions until 2030. In reality, China has already …

By Gil Friend in GreenBiz, May 2018 “If you extrapolate from these documents and case law and the COP21 agreement, then some 90 percent of the world’s business models must be transformed to net-zero GHG business models by 2050.” First in a two-part series on business risk and strategic duty. My sustainability work over the past several decades has focused …

Mark Zuckerberg faces allegations that he developed a “malicious and fraudulent scheme” to exploit vast amounts of private data to earn Facebook billions and force rivals out of business. A company suing Facebook in a California court claims the social network’s chief executive “weaponised” the ability to access data from any user’s network of friends – the feature at the heart …

The virtual power plant involves installing a 5-kilowatt solar system and a Powerwall 2 battery on roughly 50,000 low-income and social housing units across the state over the next four years. The setup would be installed at no charge to the households and financed through the sale of electricity. Participants would save an estimated 30 percent on their power bills. …

Damian Carrington Environment editor, The Guardian, Thu 17 May 2018, Climate change on track to cause major insect wipeout, scientists warn The famous migration of the North American monarch butterfly is one of the most well-documented examples of an insect species affected by climate change. Photograph: Joel Sartore/NG/Getty Images Global warming is on track to cause a major wipeout of insects, compounding already …

Friday, May 25, 2018, by Sonali Kolhatkar on Truthdig, Amazon Battles Seattle—and Loses: In the game of chicken between democracy and corporatism, Seattle demonstrated that people power can prevail . A “Pay Your Fair Share” projection created by the Neighborhood Action Coalition & Transit Riders Union to support the Seattle head tax appears in this May 10 photo. (Photo: Flickr / Jennifer Durham, Backbone Campaign, CC …

Central city streets will no longer be through routes for private cars, and no major roads will be exempt. Since 2015, Madrid has restricted car traffic in three residential zones. And last year, Carmena announced plans to make Gran Via, a six-lane highway that runs through the city center, car-free. During a nine-day trial of a Gran Via without cars in 2016, …

Charter schools are at heart a less democratic system than public schools. By Steven Singer on Common Dreams.org, May 2018 Charter schools have turned our children into the products of businesspeople. Enough. (Photo: AgainstAusterity.org) There are good charter schools. I admit that. There are bad public schools. I admit that, too. But if one had to choose between the worst public school and the …

By Eva Perroni Transitioning to more sustainable forms of agriculture remains critical, as many current agriculture practices have serious consequences including deforestation and soil degradation. But despite agriculture’s enormous potential to hurt the environment, it also has enormous potential to heal it. Realizing this, many organizations are promoting regenerative agriculture as a way to not just grow food but to progressively improve ecosystems. Drawing …